# I pit whoever convinced our president to prolong the war in Afghanistan **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 2, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711 "2009-12-02T16:04:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenner116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@kenner116](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenner116)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/21 "2009-12-02T17:42:28Z")
Staying in Afghanistan is all about saving face. Much of the country will be under Taliban influence or control whether we leave tomorrow or in 30 years. We could prevent a Taliban takeover of the country without being there by sending a few billion per year to prop up the Afghan government/military. But the only events that will cause us to leave is a significant increase in American soldier’s deaths or the near-bankruptcy of the American government. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/22 "2009-12-02T17:42:58Z")
He’s doing the right thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaijon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sinaijon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaijon)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/23 "2009-12-02T17:43:12Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I think the person **ratatoskK** is looking for is Barack Obama. No kidding. Sheesh people. If he’s your guy, and you don’t like what he does, don’t try to find someone else to blame it on. What ever happened to ‘the buck stops here’? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/24 "2009-12-02T17:43:23Z")
I pit whoever convinced our president to prolong the war in Afghanistan That would be the Taliban, and most people already pit them. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/25 "2009-12-02T17:43:41Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > People are dying on all sides. Nothing good is happening there. We can’t afford it anyhow. What kind of stupidity is this? > > FUCK YOU, you GREEDY MORONS for enriching your fucking military-industrial complex, destroying people’s lives, health and families, and causing suffering to everyone.:mad: You are stupid and know nothing about geopolitics. > [@otternell](#): > > Sometimes I just wish we would get the hell out of everyone else’s business and pay attention to our own problems. I know, its not very “global” of me, but are there any other countries that play hero? Let someone else take on that role for a decade or so, so we can focus on getting our own shit back in order. We tried that in the 1920s. Perhaps you recall what happened ten years later? ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/26 "2009-12-02T17:45:36Z")
> [@kenner116](#): > > Staying in Afghanistan is all about saving face. Much of the country will be under Taliban influence or control whether we leave tomorrow or in 30 years. We could prevent a Taliban takeover of the country without being there by sending a few billion per year to prop up the Afghan government/military. But the only events that will cause us to leave is a significant increase in American soldier’s deaths or the near-bankruptcy of the American government. You = ignorant. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/27 "2009-12-02T17:48:39Z")
The tendency toward isolationism in both the extreme left and right is yet more evidence that the political spectrum is really more of a circle, and the two ends meet at “crazy”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/28 "2009-12-02T17:51:32Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Yeah, I just think it’s funny that the original meaning of “cut and run” is a somewhat drastic maneuver you have to pull in order to keep a weight your boat is attached to from dragging you under. Ha ha. Republican Party, thy name is irony. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/29 "2009-12-02T18:06:19Z")
New York City has 35,000 cops. Do you think they could end problems in Afghanistan? It is only the size of Texas with mountains over 20,000 feet high. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/30 "2009-12-02T18:08:22Z")
I feel like I can’t get a clear picture of the A-stan war. Who knows what all the objectives and sub-objectives are? But if the Taliban threaten to de-stabilize Pakistan enough that it might cough up a nuke, well, that is definitely worth preventing. Is this line scare tactics? Who knows. P-stan is directly next door, and already destabilized by India. Yet it is hard to believe the Taliban could get the upper hand with them. I can’t decide. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/31 "2009-12-02T18:10:27Z")
Pakistan isn’t destabilized by India. If anything, the presence of India is the only thing that keeps the non-Islamists from taking power. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/32 "2009-12-02T18:13:04Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > I pit whoever convinced our president to prolong the war in Afghanistan Poor, poor Barack Obama, so at the mercy of those who are really in charge. I mean, the President really is just a figurehead, right? Geez, you’re dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/33 "2009-12-02T18:18:25Z")
> [@kenner116](#): > > Staying in Afghanistan is all about saving face. Much of the country will be under Taliban influence or control whether we leave tomorrow or in 30 years. We could prevent a Taliban takeover of the country without being there by sending a few billion per year to prop up the Afghan government/military. But the only events that will cause us to leave is a significant increase in American soldier’s deaths or the near-bankruptcy of the American government. I sure hope not. It ought to be about national security. Either being there is in our national interest or it’s not. If it is, you DO NOT put some arbitrary deadline on our withdrawal. Do you not think that the bad guys will strongarm every villager and warlord there, saying not to help the US or they’ll come get them after we turn tail? That’s what I mean: either fight the war until it’s done (we can argue what victory means in another thread I suppose) or you don’t fight at all. Obama has picked the worst of all possible options, because… well, he’s a politician. He wants to placate the knuckle-dragging meat eaters by appearing to make his General happy, and placate the wimps by pulling out just in time for his re-election bid. Other than the Obamaniacs who treat him the way the Florida press treats Tim Tebow, I can’t see this as being viewed as a path to success by most of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/34 "2009-12-02T18:37:43Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > Either being there is in our national interest or it’s not. If it is, you DO NOT put some arbitrary deadline on our withdrawal. > … > > That’s what I mean: either fight the war until it’s done (we can argue what victory means in another thread I suppose) or you don’t fight at all. Has putting a timetable on our withdrawal from Iraq produced the horrible results you’re predicting for Afghanistan? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/35 "2009-12-02T18:43:23Z")
**I pit whoever convinced our president to prolong the war in Afghanistan** It was me. Sorry. I thought it was a good idea at the time. I’ve also got him hooked on Zager & Evans; he’s been reading _Hogg_ non-stop; and he’s posing in cuirassier’s armor for portraits. What can I say - I have a lot of influence on the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Hirundo82](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/919ad9/32.png) [@Hirundo82](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirundo82)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/36 "2009-12-02T18:49:16Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I think the person **ratatoskK** is looking for is Barack Obama. (I mean Barack Obama II, wiseguys.) Whether Obama is making the right choice or not, I frankly have no idea. But he said for years that he wanted to fix things in Afghanistan and never ever suggested he was going to pull out, particularly in a hurry. He’s never been a pacifist and he’s always been in favor of the U.S. being active in protecting its interests. That thinking and phrasing has always concerned me, but he’s been upfront about it. Exactly. When Bush proposed the Iraq surge, [he was the one pitted](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=402517), not his handlers. If you pit Obama’s advisors and not the man himself, it sounds like you think the man is less able to think for himself than Bush was. Nobody deserves to be accused of that, especially one with Obama’s intellectual gifts. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/37 "2009-12-02T18:54:30Z")
I think it’s the right thing to do, both morally and in terms of our own interests as a nation. Removing a government is a serious action, and carries with it the responsibility to ensure you don’t leave innocent civilians to anarchy or despotism. The fact that we neglected stabilizing Afghanistan in favor of invading Iraq for no reason means the job is a lot harder than it had to be, but it’s still our job to do. I’m deeply frustrated that these wars have been so badly managed and we continue to pour money and lives into them because of it. I pity Obama for having to try to salvage something from the mess, but I deeply respect him for doing the right thing and not taking the politically expedient path of just saying “Bush fucked this all up, blame him – I’m outta here” and withdrawing. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/38 "2009-12-02T19:02:11Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > The tendency toward isolationism in both the extreme left and right is yet more evidence that the political spectrum is really more of a circle, and the two ends meet at “crazy”. Could there be an alternative to complete isolationism versus occupying 2 countries at once and having 800 bases around the world and always having a boogey man for social control? Nah. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/39 "2009-12-02T19:03:30Z")
> [@Hirundo82](#): > > Exactly. When Bush proposed the Iraq surge, [he was the one pitted](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=402517), not his handlers. > > If you pit Obama’s advisors and not the man himself, it sounds like you think the man is less able to think for himself than Bush was. Nobody deserves to be accused of that, especially one with Obama’s intellectual gifts. Yeah, I agree with this. Fuck that Tony Blair retread and his overreaching foreign policy objectives. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711/40 "2009-12-02T19:03:53Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > having 800 bases around the world and always having a boogey man for social control? > > Nah. lol whut [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-whoever-convinced-our-president-to-prolong-the-war-in-afghanistan/519711.md?page=3)